


you deserve the sky

by allthelostsouls



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angry Bucky Barnes, F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-28 05:54:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19387861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthelostsouls/pseuds/allthelostsouls
Summary: someone tries to steal information about the Winter Soldiers from the Avengers compound and Bucky’s girl gets hurt. Angry Bucky, sad Bucky, lovely Bucky, want-to-hug-you-and-give-you-all-my-love Bucky.





	you deserve the sky

**Author's Note:**

> Riiiight, so. It’s been about 4 years since I wrote and published any type of fanfiction, so please be kind. This one is still unedited, oops. But if you’re reading thank you, you’re beautiful.

Everything _stops_ when the bomb goes off.

No more than two seconds later, the alarm starts ringing and suddenly everybody is moving—Wanda and Sam are out the window in a blink, and Steve is out the door before Bucky can put his sandwich down. He follows right after but as Steve runs towards the place of the detonation, Bucky sees the armed man running on the hallways of the building over and the wave of panic that washes over him have him moving in that direction.

He’s alert, his eyes opened a little wider as if that’d help him see better. As if that’d help him find her faster. He stops dead in his tracks when he hears a gun shot right above him, and then another one.

“FRIDAY,” he yells to ceiling, and he’s running again. “Get them back here now!”

The soft voice replies to him but he doesn’t register the words. The blood is pumping so fast and so loud in his head, he can’t even think about anything else other than _whereisshewhereisshewhereisshe?  
Where the hell is she?!_

He follows the other four armed soldiers and he almost loses his balance when he sees her through the glass, her face and blouse covered in blood. He grabs the last guy in the line by the back of his shirt and throws him out the window, and he doesn’t hear the thud of his body hitting the ground. There’s a gunshot but she’s still standing, there’s another one and she stumbles. Rage swallows him whole at that. He’s quick to grab the man who shot her and snap his neck, and by the time Sam and Steve get to him through the same whole in the window that the first soldier was thrown out of, he’s beating the last one of them until he’s unconscious.

“Go,” Steve orders, nodding behind him, and he’s battle ready, waiting for the next wave of soldiers to hit.

“Oh, thank God,” is the first thing she says to him, the gun dropping to the floor.

Bucky rushes towards her to hold her steady, and helps her take the few steps back she needs to sit on the desk.

“Are you hit anywhere else?”

“No,” she whines as he puts pressure on her abdomen. “No, no.”

“What the hell are they even doing here?”

“It’s about you,” she mumbles softly and Bucky can see the pain in her face as she shifts in the desk. She gives up trying to move, and points down instead, “My leg.”

Bucky makes sure she’s stable enough to stand on her own and even then, he keeps a hand on her hip as he very slowly rises her skirt up the leg she had just pointed at. He was expecting blood, maybe even a bad wound, but he finds an old folder instead. He draws the knife from his waist and even more carefully now, he cuts the duct tape that holds it in place.

The blood leaves his face once he realizes what it is.

“What did they want?” Steve asks, stepping into the room. The fight long over.

“Information,” she replies looking over Bucky’s shoulder.

“About me,” Bucky adds, running his eyes through the pages.

“What about Bucky?”

“That right there, it’s the only thing left with useful information on the Winter Soldier. For security reasons it never made it to the database.”

“Useful?”

“It shows the process,” she swallows. “The words.”

“How to activate him,” Bucky grunts and hands the folder over to Steve as if it was on fire. His eyes stay low as his hands go back to her, one hooking around her back and the other one at the back of her knees. “Let’s get you to the med bay.”

*

Bucky sees the bruise on her back going all the way up the back of her shoulder and he can’t remember the last time he was this angry. “I will kill the rest of them for this, Steve.”

“Bucky—”

“With or without you,” he cuts him off. And he didn’t mean for his words to sound so harsh, but Steve doesn’t hold it against him. He can’t. “They will pay for touching her.”

Steve nods in defeat, his hand falling heavy on Bucky’s shoulder. He doesn’t move an inch from the weight of it and his gaze never leaves her, examining her with his eyes the same way the doctor in the room is. Steve nods, his chest tightens by the way she flinches when she tries to raise her arm up and he knows there’s only one answer to that, “I’m with you, pal.”

*

“Mr. Stark,” she tries to sit up the best way she can and Tony rushes to her side to help her lay back down. “Is everything alright? Is Bucky okay?”

And Bucky’s heart shouldn’t flutter at the way she says his name or the concern on her face, but it does. It totally does.

“We’re great, darling, all thanks to you,” he replies in the softest voice any of them have ever heard him speak. “I’m gonna need a favor if you’re up for it.”

“Of course.”

“I just need to know what happened,” Tony asks. “I’m going to record you telling me everything you remember. Every little detail. You’re not in trouble, it’s just protocol. And then I’m gonna let you go back to sleep, sound good?”

She smiles, “Sounds great.”

Tony smiles back at her and puts his phone next to her leg. He nods to let her know she can start whenever she’s ready as he hits the record button on the screen.

“I remember hearing the explosion. I saw Sam and Wanda flying that way no more than a few seconds afterward and then I saw Steve running out. The alarm went off and as in any emergency situation, I got under the desk,” she shrugs, her eyes never leaving her hands as if that would help her remember. “Then I heard the voices. They were speaking in a language I didn’t recognize. I remember my hands shaking when I saw their shadows walk past the desk. The light turned on in one of the hallways and I crawled out to see where they were. I—I knew what they were looking for before I even saw the file and I just… saw red. My mind cleared and my body moved on its own. I took my shoes off and kept my back to the shelves so I wouldn’t turn on any other lights. While they were checking they had the right thing I put all of my strength on hitting the back of the guy who was holding the folder. He hit his head hard and fell back on top of me. I grabbed the gun he had on his waist at the same time his friend pulled out his. He hesitated for a second because he couldn’t hit me without hitting his friend so I shot first, without even blinking. I got him right on the eye before the man on top of me threw his head back to catch my nose. I didn’t feel a thing right then, not even the blood coming out. He tried to untangle my legs from his waist so he could stand up but I shot him on the head before he could. I guess all that time practicing at the shooting range really did pay off.”

“Darling,” Tony whispers placing his hand on top of her shaking ones. He waits until her eyes rise up to him and his chest rises and falls dramatically, asking her to do the same. She does, and then she swallows the lump in her throat. Tony nods in encouragement and Bucky doesn’t miss the way Tony’s thumb carreses the back of her hand trying to calm her down. “You’re doing great.”

“All I could think about was Bucky,” she confesses, this time looking right at Tony. Bucky’s first close on either side of his legs and he lets out a shaky breath when Steve’s hand closes around his shoulder harder, ready to stop him in case he gave up and tried to run to her. “I just had to get the folder. I had to get to him, I had to—I had to _see_ that he was okay. So I crawled out from underneath the guy, grabbed the folder and ran to hide under the desk again. I taped it to my leg and waited for the rest of them to come. They lined up to come inside and it was easy to shoot the first one dead on. The second guy got me at the same time I got him. Nobody else was able to come inside after that. I remember seeing Bucky and my body turning back to liquid. I kept my eyes on him until he reached me, everything else is just blurry,” she mumbles, her eyes squeezed shut and her right hand touching the same spot in the back of her head as if that’d help her focus her memories. With her eyes still closed, she continues, and her voice turns smooth as silk. It almost feels as if she’s retelling a private memory now, a private moment, “I remember him holding me. I remember telling him about the folder and the feel of the knife against my skin so slow and careful as he detached it from my leg. The warmth of his right hand, helping me keep my balance. I remember feeling so calm even though I could barely breathe. Like whatever happened next didn’t matter because Bucky was _right there_ and he was okay.”

She keeps her eyes low once she finally opens them. Tony is just as struck by her words as the two super soldiers standing on the other side of the glass. Even the doctor who was pretending not to hear bit her lip and gave herself a second to get her heart back together. She only looks up when Tony stops recording and whispers, “You did great, honey. I’ll let Barnes in now before he goes crazy out there. He almost ripped my head off because I got to see you before he did.”

Steve’s grips eases on Bucky’s shoulder and he’s inside the room before Tony has taken two steps away from the bed. His hands hold her face in the most delicate way possible and shushes her, in his best attempt to calm her down.

“Wha—whe—Are you hurt?”

“No,” he replies right away, realizing what got her so worked up. He hadn’t changed or even cleaned his hands or face, the residues of the fight still on him. “It’s not my blood. Not my blood. Please breathe,” he pleads, putting both of her hands flat on him. He exaggerates his breathing, inviting her to follow the rise and fall of his chest with her own.

A whole minute goes by before her breathing is back to normal, and Bucky is so fucking thankful that the beeping of the monitor slows down to a normal rate.

He dares to smirk, “That’s my girl.”

*

On the other side of the glass, there’s silence.

Both Tony and Steve are more than amazed by the soft exchange of kind words and slow movements. They see Bucky tucking her hair behind her ear and kissing her forehead, and the small smile playing around the corners of her mouth because of it. Both had seen the glances before—Tony has caught her snooping around the building as if she was looking for someone when she’d bring paperwork over for him to sign and Steve knew someone was dancing on his best friend’s heart every time he’d find him at the same spot, same time, just staring at the building.

But this was it.

This was how they’d find out for themselves, too.

“Holy shit.”

“Language, Cap,” Tony teases. “But holy shit indeed.”

*

The TV is on but nobody is watching.

As he comes up the stairs, Bucky can hear movement on the kitchen. He hears pots clinging together in the sink and then the quiet thud of the cabinets shutting close. Once he comes into view, both soldiers in the hallway stand right up and he almost laughs at the way they debate wether to salute him or not.

“How’s she doing?”

“She’s restless,” one of them replies. “She can’t seem to stop moving.”

“ _She_ can hear you, too.”

“Sorry, love,” the other guy jumps when she hears her behind him, and turns to find her with a smile playing on the corner of her lips as her body rests on the door frame, two mugs on her hand. Bucky feels his chest burning at that term of endearment.

“I made you hot cocoa,” she mumbles, stretching her arm towards them. “You can’t say no.”

It’s Bucky the one who reaches out for it and hands each one of them a mug. They’re almost shy to grab it from him, but they sure aren’t shy to drink it.

“You should be resting,” Bucky grunts in her direction, his eyes darkening.

“Pleasure to see you as well, Sergent Barnes,” she shoots back. “Would you like something to drink too?”

“No, I—“

“Great!”

He sighs, exhausted, and watches her run to her kitchen to grab another mug (a pink one this time) and pour the hot liquid on it. When she comes back, she’s full on grinning as she hands the bright mug to the ex-assasin.

“Gentleman,” she says then, eyeing the two soldiers behind Bucky. “Now that Sergent Barnes is here, I think it’d be okay for you to leave.”

They both exchange wondering looks before setting their eyes on the super soldier.

“I’m sorry, love. We have orders.”

 _Love_ , Bucky grunts.

“But—“

“It’s okay,” Bucky speaks up then. “If Tony has an issue with it, you can tell him I was the one who told you to leave.”

“We won’t tell your secret if you won’t tell ours,” she adds, and Bucky wonders if people would find it possible to say no to her when she’s pouting like that. He sure as hell wouldn’t be able to.

The soldiers exchange looks one last time and take their finals sips before handing the mugs back. A few short and polite goodbyes and Bucky is closing the door behind him. The apartment is a little warm and the faint smell of lavander makes him feel right at home.

He watches her leave the mugs in the sink and pick up a bright pink one, just like the one he has in his hand, and pours herself some hot cocoa as well.

She hums as she takes a sip, “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Sergent Barnes?”

“Can’t sleep. Thought I’d check up on you.”

She nods in agreement, “Same here. I can’t seem to fully relax. I guess I really am restless.”

“How’s the wound?”

“All better,” she smiles, raising her pajama top just enough to expose the left side of her belly and his hands shake a little, he has to pressed them hard against his legs so he doesn’t reach out and _touch_. There’s nothing but a small red circle to indicate where the bullet was. Bucky has seen little spots like it a million times. A few more hours and the mark will be gone completely. “Didn’t think getting shot would be so… painful.”

She earns a laugh at that—a full on deep, teeth showing laugh—and she feels like she’s won, like she’s doing something right, and that the moon shines brighter, smiling along side him.

“Well, what did you expect?” He manages to get out, his body still shaking with laughter.

But she doesn’t reply. She’s much too busy watching him smiling, a sight she doesn’t get to enjoy often enough. After a while, she asks instead, “Would you like to finish the movie with me?”

“What are you watching?”

“Shrek.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“It’s my favorite movie,” she says, moving around the kitchen island, taking a hold of his jacket as she walks past him, inviting him to follow her to the couch. “I watch it every time I’m stressed or sad or in need of a laugh.”

Once they’re settled, and everything is quiet except for the sounds from the tv, it doesn’t take long before her breathing slows down and her eyelids feel too heavy to keep open. She rests her head on Bucky’s arm and his skin is on fire. He feels his arm tingle all over and a million thoughts run through his head, none of which tell him what he should do next.

Before he does anything, though, she’s stirring on the couch and she looks up at him as he looks down at her. Her cheek’s still pressed against his shoulder and they’re so close, Bucky could count her eyelashes.

“Are you ever gonna kiss me?”

He hisses, clearly surprised. He closes his eyes and frowns, working on how to make the words on his head sound. And if you’re quiet enough ( _shhh, listen_ ), you can hear his heart break.

“I—I don’t deserve—I—”

“Do you not want to?”

“I do,” he replies almost too quickly. His eyelids flutter open slowly and the blood rushes to his cheeks as he confesses, “I might not remember how.”

“I don’t think that’s something you forget. And from what I’ve heard, you were quite the ladies man,” she smiles. There’s a flash of sadness in his eyes and she wishes she could take it back. She can’t, so instead she says, “It wouldn’t be hard for you to get back to it, given you’re still so… disturbingly handsome.”

She earns a soft chuckle and relieve washes over her as she feels his muscles relax. “I’m not the same person,” he mumbles and she can almost hear the pain. “And I don’t want anyone else. I only want you.”

“Then stop fighting it.”

“I—I just…”

A few seconds pass by and Bucky’s lost as he sees her sigh, her eyes looking down at her hands. He might cry when she starts moving away, his chest suddenly feeling cold.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I shouldn’t have pushed it.”

Bucky trails behind her as she tries to rush herself to the kitchen. He spins her around once she’s reached the sink as if she was trying to fake to be busy cleaning and his heart stutters when he sees a tear falling down.

“After everything I’ve done,” he starts in the softest way possible, his voice still raw and broken, his eyes incapable to look up at hers. “I don’t—I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve you.”

“Oh, baby,” her hands find the base of his neck, her fingers tangling with his hair and her thumbs find their way under his jaw, asking him to look up. “All that pain and torture, it only made you kind. I see it when you play around with Shuri as if she was your younger sister. I see it when you make they add Cocoa Puffs to the grocery list because they’re Sam's favorite, or when you make extra tea so you can give some to Wanda even if she hasn’t asked you. I see how patient you are when you’re training Peter, too. After everything you’ve gone through, you deserve the sky,” she promises, her eyes never leaving him. “You deserve chocolate cake on your birthday, to sing while you cook, and to watch the sunrise at the beach. You deserve to laugh so hard your stomach hurts, and a good nights sleep. You deserve to be happy. You deserve love.”

She kisses him one, two, three times and Bucky is still surprised by the gesture. She lingers a little longer at the fourth time their lips connect and Bucky has enough time to recover and place his right hand at the back of her neck to hold her in place. He grunts against her mouth and that’s all the encouragement she needs to deepen the kiss and push herself against him as if they weren’t close enough. There’s a moment afterwards, when they’re still breathing each other’s air and just enjoying the closeness of their bodies, where their eyes and hands ask and answer their questions without moving an inch; the _why haven’t we done this before?_ , and the _what took us so damn long?_ , and even the _I’m going to kiss you again right now, I’m going to keep kissing you forever_.

“I swear,” she breathes against his mouth. “You’re a good man, James. You deserve to be loved.”

“I’ve waited for this moment for so long.”

“I’m right here. I’ve always been right here.”

Bucky grunts, kissing her again. He lets out a breathy moan when she asks in between kisses, “Stay with me.”

He smiles shyly, “There’s nowhere else I could ever want to be.”

**Author's Note:**

> find me - [xbuchananbarnes.tumblr.com](http://xbuchananbarnes.tumblr.com)


End file.
